Elections

CENTER LINE — Voters in Center Line will narrow the candidate field on Aug. 8 in this year’s City Council race from six to four, vying for two four-year terms.

All six candidates were asked, in 150 words or less, to state the top items they wish to accomplish if elected and how they would go about accomplishing them. If a candidate went over their word limit, (...) replaces the rest of their answer. (I) indicates that the candidate is an incumbent. The answers are printed verbatim.

In the Sentinel’s coverage area, voters will decide during the Aug. 8 primary election which six candidates for City Council will move on to the November general election. Candidates were asked, in 150 words or fewer, to state the top items they wish to accomplish if elected and how they would go about accomplishing them. If a candidate went over the word limit, (…) replaces the rest of the answer. (I) indicates that the candidate is an incumbent.Read More

In the Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods, voters in the Aug. 8 special primary election will choose which individual will represent their political party in the Nov. 7 general election. Grosse Pointe City voters have a bond proposal to decide.

Candidates were asked, in 150 words or less, to state the top three goals they wish to accomplish if elected and how they would go about accomplishing them. If a candidate went over the word limit, (...) replaced the rest of the answer. All answers are printed verbatim.

HARPER WOODS — Michigan’s House District 1 has been without representation in Lansing since the recently elected holder of that seat, Brian Banks, resigned Feb. 6 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of filing false financial statements.

In the Advertiser Times coverage area, voters in the Aug. 8 special primary election will choose which individual will represent their political party in the Nov. 7 general election.

Candidates were asked, in 150 words or less, to state the top three goals they wish to accomplish if elected and how they would go about accomplishing them. If a candidate went over the word limit, (...) replaced the rest of the answer. All answers are printed verbatim.

FRASER — Officials in the Fraser Public Schools district were all smiles May 3, one day after their bond proposal passed by nearly 17 percentage points.

Nearly 3,200 voters in the district’s nine precincts made it to the ballot box, with about 2,000 of them voting for the proposal. The final count was 58.6 percent for, and 41.4 percent against. Turnout, according to data accumulated by the Macomb County Clerk’s Office, was 15.3 percent.

ST. CLAIR SHORES — With seven certified candidates filing to run for the 2017 City Council race, an August primary election will be held in accordance with the city charter.

City Clerk Mary Kotowski said that the St. Clair Shores city charter calls for a primary election when there are more than double the number of candidates for the number of open seats. Therefore, voters will decide Aug. 8 which six of the seven candidates will proceed to the November general election for City Council.

“When we are getting over 13,000 absentee ballots in a presidential race, that is a lot of standing on your feet, trying to feed ballots through for hours and hours and hours,” said Rochester Hills City Clerk Tina Barton.

With grant funding from the Help America Vote Act, Barton aims to purchase high-speed scanners and tabulators that will process approximately 100 to 130 absentee ballots per minute.

WARREN/STERLING HEIGHTS/TROY — Warren Consolidated Schools officials are asking residents in the district to support an existing operating millage renewal proposal May 2 that will continue to levy the number of operating mills required for the school district to receive revenue at the full per-pupil foundation allowance permitted by the state of Michigan.

FERNDALE — During the election in November 2012, the city of Ferndale suffered from long wait times that caused voters to stand in line for more than two hours.

To fix this and any other problems relating to elections, the city created an election task force to dig into such problems as long wait times. It comprised precinct inspectors, residents, and city officials and staff. It was led by City Clerk Marne McGrath, who gave a wrap-up presentation about the task force at the council’s March 27 meeting.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Last November, Chippewa Valley Schools approved the polling of district residents by a public opinion firm to gauge how residents feel about a possible tax increase to fund a bond plan for improvements to the district.

The election is May 2, and based on findings presented by Bernie Porn of Epic MRA to the Board of Education March 6, residents seem to have a favorable opinion of the proposal.

The poll was conducted Nov. 19-22 to interview by phone 400 residents who live in all areas of the district.

EASTPOINTE — During the Eastpointe City Council meeting Jan. 3, council heard comments from residents regarding the U.S. Justice Department’s proposed changes in the way voters elect City Council members.

City Manager Steve Duchane explained to residents Dec. 20 that the council wanted to be transparent.

“The council decided to be very transparent to gain input from the citizens of Eastpointe, because typically this is a charter amendment matter, which will mean the voters control the charter and only the voters can change the charter,” he said.

EASTPOINTE — Following the public announcement that the federal government had told Eastpointe to change its election process, the City Council held its first discussion of the proposed changes during its Dec. 20 meeting.

On Dec. 15, subzero temperatures swept the county while things heated up inside the Sterling Heights Senior Center, where three Macomb County election recounts took place.

The Utica mayor recount began at 8 a.m. and wrapped up around 5:30 p.m. A group of six people carefully worked at a table in the Senior Center’s multipurpose room to count ballots cast for Thom Dionne, Councilman Frank Czapski and Edward Wykes.

EASTPOINTE — City officials held a press conference Dec. 15 in the City Council chambers to discuss proposed changes to the way voters elect members of the City Council.

Eastpointe City Manager Steve Duchane received a letter from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice Nov. 18 stating that the “existing system for electing the members of the Eastpointe City Council violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”